Business Insider Journalists and public relations professionals have a notorious love-hate relationship.

PR people have been known to "spin" reporters (giving information that may or may not be 100% truthful) or bombard journalists with irrelevant emails, press releases, and phone calls.

On the flip side, journalists are a difficult, surly, and cantankerous group of people to work with.

But there are PR people who do know their jobs. Who do understand news. Who do work to uncover important stories at their companies. Who do handle the difficult questions and investigations honestly.

These are the people that make a journalist's work immeasurably better. The following list is comprised of people who are influential in the tech industry and have proven themselves to be good partners to tech journalists, according to the tech journalist community.

We received almost two hundred nominations and narrowed that down to 61 semi-finalists, from which this final 50 were selected.

No. 47: Krista Berlincourt, Simple

But it continues to be a source of stories and news on how tech startups are upending the finance industry. As such, reporters have come to rely on Krista "to pull the vast network of strings she has in order to deliver" on stories, one journalist praised.

For instance, for the past year, she's been working with a neuroscientist to study the feelings that underscore a person's relationship with money. Her grand plan is to use this research to help people improve their lives and better manage their money.

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No. 46: Drew Olanoff, Rothenberg Ventures

Drew Olanoff

Drew Olanoff heads PR for Rothenberg Ventures, a VC firm known for funding early technologies like virtual reality, space and drones.

Olanoff has impressed reporters with his knowledge of these young tech fields. He's also done a stint as a tech blogger for TechCrunch, so he's been on the other side of the pitch.

"He's well connected and goes out of his way to help reporters connect with his firm and its portfolio companies," one reporter writes. "When you're working on a VR story, you want to work with someone who actually has used VR."

(He's been known to show up in public wearing VR devices.)

Olanoff is a two-time cancer survivor, too, but he insists he's never beat himself up with the unknowable question, "Why me?" Instead he just pushes ahead enjoying the time he has with his family and friends.

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No. 45: Justin Mauldin, Mauldin Consulting

Justin Mauldin

Justin Mauldin cut his teeth at Apple, worked marketing for some some mobile startups before he went to a big PR agency (Bateman Group).

He started his own firm about a year ago and has quickly made an impression on a number of top tech journalists. He says working both sides of PR, in-house and at agency, has led him to question and rethink how agency PR should be done.

When he's not working, he's traveling, taking pictures and hanging with his wife and two wiener dogs named Ketchup and Mustard.

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No. 44: Carmen Murray, LendInvest

Carmen Murray

Carmen Murray started at LendInvest only about a year ago and in that time she's helped put the London FinTech company on the map.

"She pitches stories you actually want to write and is all around, basically, great," one journalist praised.

When she's not helping LendInvest attract the notice of the business and financial press she's outside feeding her addition to flowers. She dreams of running her own flower shop in her retired years.

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No. 43: Daphne Algom, Headline Media

Daphne Algom

Daphne Algom began her career as a journalist for ABC News and CNN covering the Middle East.

Since cofounding Headline Media with her husband and another business partner, Jon Elkins, she's been a go-to PR resource for journalists worldwide in covering the "startup nation's" burgeoning tech scene.

Algom is credited for helping CNN produce multiple series on the Middle East tech industry

"Her background at ABC and CNN gives her the insight that every journalist wishes every PR agency had," one journalist writes of her.

Her clients range from startups to publicly traded companies, but she's got a soft spot for two of them. Lemonade landed one of the largest seed investments of 2015 at $13 million with its plans to take on the insurance industry.

And AngelSense, a GPS tracking device for children with special needs which also employs parents of special needs children.

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No. 42: Jessica Hoffman, Zenefits

Jessica Hoffman

Jessica Hoffman joined troubled high-flying startup Zenefits right after the storm hit, with revelations about the company's business practices that forced its founder CEO to resign.

It's one thing to do PR during happy times, when launching products or dreaming up marketing campaigns. It's another to sail the ship through rocky times.

Hoffman has earned kudos from journalists for being fast to answer queries, for dealing with even the harshest questions and for working tirelessly to try and tell a new story about her company.

"Whew! It's been a tough 6 months but we are a stronger company because of it," she tells us.

When not working she can be found writing songs and making plates.

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No. 41: Tim Smith, Element PR

Tim Smith

Tim Smith is known as "the PR person to go to for anything robotics related. Fun, funny, will hustle to help you with something at a moment's notice," says one journalist.

One example: within days of being introduced to the founders of Simbe Robotics, Smith brought the company out of stealth with over 150 articles.

All told, he's helped Element's robotics clients get mentioned in over 1,200 articles in 2015.

When he's not working he's either reading or playing in one of the three different "fake" rock bands he belongs to.

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No. 40: Jesse Derris, Derris & Company

Jesse Derris

Jesse Derris is making a name for himself in the tight-knit New York startup community representing a lot of great ones like Harry's, Warby Parker, and Oscar.

"He's respectful of my time and gives me personalized pitches," says one journalist.

The agency he founded four years ago now employs 50 people.

In New York, he's known as the proud husband of Jordana Kier, the founder of all-natural feminine products company LOLA.

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No. 39: Mary Ritti, Snapchat

LinkedIn/Mary Ritti

Mary Ritti became one of Snapchat's very first employees when she came on board in early 2013 as the vice president of communications.

And for a long time, Mary remained the company's only communications person, even as the startup's popularity was exploding.

Now, she's built up an a first-rate team "that's easy to work with as Snapchat unveils one hit product after another," said one reporter.

No. 38: Elliot Tomaeno, ASTRSK

Elliot Tomaeno is well known to journalists who cover the tech startup world. He and the team at the PR agency he founded, ASTRSK, helped launch over 50 companies in the past year.

He's also doubled his staff from 12 people to 20 and has begun to pick up a few more established companies (Glu Mobile & XO Group) and has represented 10 tech films including "Ex Machina," "The Steve Jobs Film," "Zero Days," "Lo and Behold."

Journalists like him because he's fast to respond and understands how to send a well-pitched story.

He's known for his work serving the under-represented folks in the tech too. He's an investor in the Female Founders Fund, a VC fund that solely invests in female founded companies.

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No. 37: Molly Stein, Bite

Molly Stein

Molly Stein has a rare skill in the PR world. Whereas most PR pros are like shotguns, blasting out their press releases to any and every reporter, Stein is precise and thoughtful.

She zeroes in on just the right reporter who understands the story and can do it justice, making everybody happy — readers, reporters, and clients.

She's worked with some interesting names in the enterprise tech space last year, such as helping startup Mist launch from stealth, working with Cumulus Networks and helping roll out Hitachi's new IoT unit.

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No. 36: Ryan Bartholomew, WE Communications

Ryan Bartholomew

Ryan Bartholomew does PR for Microsoft's devices, including the Surface family of tablet/PCs and Microsoft's augmented reality glasses, HoloLens.

She's impressed journalists with her quick response time and her parties. She organized an event that introduced reporters and others to Microsoft's devices.

When she's not promoting tablets and devices, she's hanging with her dog and indulging her passion for interior design and sparkling Italian wine Prosecco.

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No. 35: Ian Chaffee, Transform.PR

Ian Chaffee

"Ian Chaffee knows how to spot a great story and he sends really interesting, almost irresistible, pitches," one reporter says of him.

He's well-known for representing companies in the Bitcoin and digital currency world, but he also made waves this year representing CNET founder Halsey Minor and the VidCon 2015 conference.

On a personal level, he's got a running 16-year old bet with Airbnb's Nick Papas on his hometown Dodgers versus Papas' team, the Giants, over which will win their divisions.

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No. 34: Stephanie Ng, Mighty PR

Stephanie Ng

Journalists like working with Stephanie Ng because she's good at the nuts-and-bolts of dealing with major news announcements.

She "never calls and she takes NO for an answer," one said of her.

Her most notable client this year was smartphone maker Nextbit and its Kickstarter campaign which created enough buzz to generate 114 articles and bring in $1.3 million to the Kickstarter fund-raising effort.

She also helped SoundCloud launch its consumer subscription service.

Another plus for Ng, journalists say she hosts really great parties.

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No. 33: John Gallagher, Brunswick

John Gallagher

John Gallagher is known by tech reporters as the kind of a PR person that's a help, not a hindrance. Instead of trying to block reporters from talking to execs, he gets them on the phone.

Gallagher is good at pointing reporters to the news they need to cover and "is a nice person in general," one tells us.

He recently worked with Pure Storage on its IPO and has worked with companies like Facebook, Infosys and Cisco.

When not working, he is known to spend time barrel-aging cocktails. "You'll never leave hungry or sober from one of my dinner parties," he grins.

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No. 32: Denis Roy, Box

Denis Roy

Denis Roy has become the new face of Box and has quickly gained the respect of tech journalists. "He responds quickly and knows the industry," one reporter said of him.

One of his biggest achievements in the past year was helping pull off Box's annual customer conference, the center point of which was CEO Aaron Levie hosting a fireside chat with Apple's Tim Cook.

Roy loves writing, and he especially still loves to put an actual pen to actual paper when writing in his journal.

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No. 31: Sarah Maxwell, Uber

Sarah Maxwell

Uber has set the tech and taxi world on fire and Sarah Maxwell has been a part of that, as an early member of the company's communication team.

She ran several huge successful campaigns this year, including #UberICECREAM, launching the new UberRUSH product, announcements with key partners (Facebook, Amazon Echo, or Walmart) and, her personal favorite, securing Vogue's Grace Coddington for #UberKITTENS, where Uber delivered kittens for people to play with or adopt.

Journalists like her because she's a great resource in helping report inside stories about the growing company, and she's fast to respond to breaking news queries.

Little-known fact: her family is building an autonomous robot in the garage of their Silicon Valley home for a NASA challenge.

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No. 30: Peter Schottenfels, Airbnb

Peter Schottenfels

Peter Schottenfels has become Airbnb's go-to PR person in New York.

One reporter says he's not only fast to answer a reporter's questions, but that he is also knowledgeable and doesn't try to sell a reporter on the corporate spin.

When not sharing stories of happy New York Airbnb hosts, he's a volunteer for the SAGE Center, which supports elderly members of the LGBT community.

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No. 29: Alexandra Finegersh, Hulu

Alex Finegersh

Hulu is having such a good year that it's decided to do what no one thought it would: get rid of its free service. And one of the people behind that good year is Alexandra Finegersh.

Reporters know her as a resource that is "really good" at getting them the information they need, one told us.

Inside Hulu she's helped announce big new content deals, original shows, new features. As you might imagine from someone who works at Hulu, she's a major TV and movie geek.

So the highlight of her year, she says, was when Hulu secured the rights to stream "Seinfeld" and she got to see the apartments of one of her favorite shows.

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No. 28: Blair Hinderliter, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Blair Hinderliter

Blair Hinderliter joined HP two years ago in the midst of HP's big move to split itself apart into two huge companies.

He stayed on at one of the companies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, run by CEO Meg Whitman, and was instrumental in handling PR concerning the separation.

Hinderliter is "straight and fair with reporters even when answering tough questions," one tech reporter said of him.

Outside of his career in public relations and gig as an adjunct professor in marketing at San Francisco State University, Hinderliter has dedicated much of the last decade to advocating for the end of Tuberculosis.

"Ending this epidemic once and for all is scientifically possible and in our grasp, and I'll continue my work until we turn this possibility into a reality," he tells us.

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No. 27: Brittany Stone, Moxie Group PR

Brittany Stone

Brittany Stone has the magic knack of sending just the right pitch to just the right reporter, or as one tech journalist said of her, "She's still killing it at Moxie."

One of her proudest moments in the last year was working on the story of an entrepreneur planning to launch an encryption platform from a prison cell in Colombia.

One thing most people don't know about her is that she loves whiskey, even the cheap stuff.

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No. 26: Mary Camarata, Amazon Web Services

Mary Camarata

Mary Camarata joined AWS in 2012 as global director of public relations after spending 5 years leading PR for HP's Enterprise Group (now HPE).

As AWS has grown to become one of the most wildly successful tech services in the marketplace today, Camarata and team have been instrumental. She's known for keeping journalists abreast of AWS's never-ending stream of news and new technologies.

A Washington D.C. native, Cho is a relative newcomer to the San Francisco Bay Area, moving there four years ago, after living in Asia for a decade.

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No. 23: Sheila Bryson, Lyft

Sheila Bryson

To journalists, Sheila Bryson is known as the friendly face of Lyft, fast and helpful when news is breaking.

She's also hilarious, having come to her work in PR after a stint as a stand-up comic. She's the one that started the funny Twitter hashtag #BIheadlineyourlife, which asks people to write headlines about their lives as if they were a Business Insider story.

On a serious note, she's also kept Lyft in the limelight, not completely overshadowed by its big bad competitor, Uber, orchestrating things like executive keynote spots at the LA Auto Show and Fortune Brainstorm, to fun consumer programs like Ghostbusters Mode and Undercover Lyft with Shaquille O'Neal.

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No. 22: Stacey Ngo, Greylock

Stacey Ngo

Greylock is a top-tier venture capitalist firm and Stacey Ngo is known in tech journalism circles for the dinner and meet-ups she arranges between Greylock's portfolio companies and journalists.

As such, she's often doing PR for startups so small, they have never done a press interview. And she still helps with PR support for firms as they grow such as company announcements from Convoy, Quip, Figma and Gladly.

She also works with investor and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, arranging interviews and getting the word out on his projects, such as his Blitzscaling Class.

When she's not working, she's known to be brilliant at putting together jigsaw puzzles.

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No. 21: Dena Cook, Brew

Dena Cook

Dena Cook is a PR powerhouse at Brew Media Relations, and its CEO.

Cook and her agency represent startups as well as larger tech companies, including the likes of Samsung, Refinery29 and WordPress.

Brew's success under Cook and crew also attracted notice within the PR industry.

Earlier this year, Brew was acquired by a London-based communications firm called Freuds.

Cook continues to manage the Los Angeles office and oversee growth in the New York and San Francisco offices.

One reporter noted that Cook and her team members always respond quickly to the press, even at inconvenient times, making themselves invaluable resources.

Cook is also now the proud mom to her first child, Alexander, born last August.

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No. 20: Brooke Hammerling, Brew

Brooke Hammerling

Brooke Hammerling, founder of Brew Media Relations, is one of the most well-connected people in tech.

And she uses that social power to supply reporters with stories they couldn't find elsewhere.

Reporters love it. One said Hammerling always sends "great personalized pitches, so you don't feel like you're one of a million outlets getting the same story."

"To see Refinery29 become the top voice of the generation of women they speak to has been profound," Hammerling tells us.

On another note, you can follow the life of her dog, Potato, on Instagram.

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No. 19: Gabe Stricker, Google Access (Fiber)

Gabe Stricker

Since his departure from Twitter and return to Google (now Alphabet) late last year, Gabe Stricker has been an increasingly go-to resource for reporters.

Currently, Stricker serves as the Vice President of Public Policy and Communications for one of Alphabet's subsidiaries, Access, which encompasses a nest of projects around Internet access, energy, telecommunications and robotics.

What Stricker enjoys most about his work? "Seeing a place like Louisville pass legislation that paves the way for its residents to have access to faster and better broadband," he told Business Insider.

Stricker is an advocate for access in all forms, "digital and beyond," he says, especially his work with Planned Parenthood to increase public access to family planning.

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No. 18: Pete Wootton, WE Communications

Pete Wootton

Pete Wootton is one of Microsoft's primary spokesperson via its go-to PR company WE Communications, where he's been for nearly 17 years.

Microsoft was once slow and bureaucratic when dealing with the press, but Wootton is quick to respond to email and phone calls and works hard to get a reporter fast answers to their questions.

Journalists find him instrumental in coordinating interviews with top execs, and getting real answers to even their toughest questions. "Pete is a good guy, friendly, and he genuinely tries to do right by reporters," one said of him.

Outside of the office, Wootton noted that his two sons, Elliott and Noah, 8 and 4, keep him "wise, and wise-cracking."

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No. 17: Julia Blystone, Slack

LinkedIn/Julia Blystone

Slack is one of those tech startups that every startup founder dreams of becoming. Soaring to popularity fast and becoming a must-have app for business users.

The young company now has such huge name recognition that it is has advertising on TV.

And Julia Blystone's team has a lot to do with that.

Blystone worked at a variety of communication companies before joining Slack as the head of PR and communications just over a year ago.

"She's one of the best in the business," one journalist says about her.

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No. 16: Andrew Kovacs, Sequoia

Jim Prosser

Andrew Kovacs spent over half a decade helping make communication run smoothly at Google before joining Sequoia Capital in 2012.

Tech journalists like working with him because "he seems to know everybody who's anybody and is willing to make introductions."

He often helps Sequoia's portfolio companies manage their interactions with the press. One said of him, "He is strategic, analytical and personable."

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No. 15: Kay Kinton, Twillio

Kay Kinton

It's been a busy summer for Kay Kinton, the director of Global Communications at Twilio. The company behind much of the infrastructure of most every message and reminder that pings on your smartphone ended the tech IPO drought when it went public earlier this summer.

Twilio has been described as "the thing behind everything," and leading global communications around a product like that is no small feat. Thankfully, Kinton comes with 15 years of experience, including time spent at Microsoft and AWS, to back her up.

While her work is in communication, and the company she works for is focused in communication, Kinton told Business Insider that she is proud to have recently taken time away from her digital devices to recharge and is making it her personal mission to help others find balance in our plugged-in society as well.

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No. 14: Jessica Reeves, Google

Jess Reeves
Jess Reeves

Jessica Reeves joined Google six years ago years and most recently led the public relations around NEXT San Francisco, Google's first ever annual clout platform user conference, where she coordinated closely with Diane Greene, leader of Google's cloud business.

According to one reporter, Reeves is not only an "all around nice person," but very helpful in setting up interviews and a great contact for "All Things Google."

Two or three times a week, you might catch Reeves riding her bike to work. But outside of the office, Reeves told Business Insider that she spends time with her 16-month-old daughter and volunteering with Las Madres, a Bay Area non-profit focused on parent and family education.

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No. 13: Jim Prosser, SoFi

Jim Prosser

Jim Prosser recently startled the tech industry when he announced he was leaving Twitter to join five-year-old fintech startup SoFi in San Francisco.

Prosser is well-known in the tech press for his work at Twitter, where he joined in 2012, helping with its blockbuster IPO the following year. And he's known for his work at Google before that.

Prosser has manged communications around Twitter's NFL and other livestreaming deals, as well as gracefully handling some of the tough issues involving and around the company.

One editor noted: "Jim is always available to talk and help break down whatever big news is being announced. He's not only quick, but fair."

Little known fact: Prosser enjoys a night out doing karaoke.

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No. 12: Kerri Catallozzi, AWS

Kerri Catallozzi

Kerri Catallozzi joined Amazon Web Services from Red Hat in 2013, when AWS was still flying under the radar as far as most tech journalists were concerned.

Since then, AWS's impact on the tech industry has shown up in big, big ways. And Catallozzi has helped tech journalists share the stories of some of AWS's biggest customers like Nordstrom, GE, Airbnb, Pinterest, GameStop, Illumina, Hudl, NASA, Philips, and Pacific Life.

Amazon didn't have a strong history of working with the tech press, a far cry from Red Hat, so Catallozzi had her work cut out for her.

But now that AWS is in the crosshairs, she's impressed journalists by quickly responding to questions whether the stories about AWS are glowing or not-so-glowing.

"Catallozzi always does the best she can to get me honest and full answers to my questions," praises one tech journalist.

When she's not working she's usually outside running. She's run three marathons, including last year's New York City Marathon, as well as a number of half marathons.

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No. 11: Ashley Mayer, Social Capital

In 2015, we noted how Ashley Mayer is uniformly regarded by journalists as one of the best PR folks in the Valley, even named a "class act" by one reporter. With only two years worth of PR experience, Mayer was hired to be Box's one-woman PR team in 2009 at age 24.

But at the end of last year, she made the jump from Box to Social Capital, where she now runs brand and talent to raise both the profiles of the startups she represents and the noteworthy individuals she works with within Social Capital.

No. 10: Marni Greenberg, Spotify

Marni Greenberg

Marni Greenberg came to Spotify when Spotify acquired her previous employer, data/music intelligence company The Echo Nest in 2014.

She's done well for herself at Spotify ever since. She and her team have had a big year launching features like Discovery Weekly, a weekly playlist of personalized music recommendations that has become its most popular feature. She also launched a whole bunch of partnerships with companies like Uber, Sony and Starbucks.

One reporter described Greenberg as "concise," "helpful," quick to respond, as well as good at providing access to execs or loads of information — aka, what every reporter wants.

Outside of work, Greenberg loves to ski, particularly those powder days when the sun is shining, known in the skiing world as a "bluebird day."

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No. 9: Nick Papas, Airbnb

Nick Papas

After spending about a decade working in the rough-and-tumble world of political communications, including a time as Assistant Press Secretary in the White House, Nick Papas jumped ship to join Airbnb in 2013.

But being Airbnb's Director of Public Affairs requires managing seemingly endless controversial matters, so Papas' time spent working in politics must be what gives him his edge.

One reporter noted that Papas is always "fast and responsive" and does an excellent job of providing insightful background to stories when asked.

Papas lives in Washington, D.C., where he and his wife spend most of their time wrangling two young children.

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No. 8: Smita Saran, Netflix

Smita Saran

Smita Saran's resume includes nearly five years working as an account executive with Edelman and two years working at StubHub, where she helped push the company's visibility with reporters to the next level.

And while Saran only joined Netflix six months ago, she's already making her mark. One reporter noted that she's always quick to respond and offers lots of helpful information.

Saran is also willing to go where other people fear to tread: She believes the best way to get to know someone is by asking them about religion and politics. She'll tell you that The New York Times is her religion and she still misses famed media critic columnist David Carr, who passed away in 2015.

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No. 7: Vanessa Chan, Facebook

Vanessa Chan, who's done corporate communications for Facebook for the last two and a half years, has helped reporters throughout it all. She's especially proud of helping simplify Facebook's complicated stock split announcement into something people could easily understand.

"Chan is exceedingly helpful when it comes to navigating Facebook's vast swath of PR people and is always willing to play ground-control when pinged with a question," one reporter says.

True story: A long time ago she was a Power Rangers hand model (the Red Ranger).

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No. 6: Fred Sainz, Apple

Fred Sainz
Twitter/Fred Sainz

One reporter joked that if Apple's Fred Sainz is really great at anything, he's really "great at giving no comment."

But in truth, this past spring Sainz led Apple's PR during the FBI fight over iPhone encryption with "aplomb," showing a different side of the company in the process, one journalist praised.

Another reporter added that Sainz is "always responsive, sending updates and emails constantly. I don't think he slept for like 6 weeks" during the encryption case.

Before Apple, Sainz led communication for Human Rights Campaign, where he was responsible for the little red square and pink equal sign that was adopted as a Facebook profile picture by more than 10 million users, making it one of the most viral social media campaigns in history.

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No. 5: Rob Shilkin, Google

Rob Shilkin
Rob Shilkin

Rob Shilkin leads Google's corporate communications team as well as its ads/commerce team, in Mountain View, New York, and D.C.

And it's been a big year for Shilkin and his team as Google restructured itself into Alphabet, put a new CEO, Sundar Pichai, in charge of Google proper, and hired a new CFO, a new chief business offer, a new head of HR, and on and on.

Once upon a time, about a decade ago, Google's response to the press was mostly to publish a blog post and shrug 'em all off. These days, Google actively engages with reporters, with an internal goal to keep interactions fun and "Google-y."

And Shilkin leads by example. "He is fast and approachable even when asking tough questions, and he's funny," one journalist says.

Before the current gig in Silicon Valley, Shilkin spent nine years in Australia as an antitrust lawyer.

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No. 4: Jill Hazelbaker, Uber

Jill Hazelbaker

Jill Hazelbaker ran press for New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, then worked at Google and Snapchat before joining Uber late last fall.

Now, she runs communications and public affairs for the ride-hailing service across the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

That's a massive task. Uber has been a worldwide phenom covered by countless journalists in many countries with stories ranging from how Uber creates jobs to its battles with regulators and everything in between.

"Uber is growing up and Jill's been part of the force behind that," says one reporter. "She is helping open doors into the company."

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No. 3: Scott Dobroski, Glassdoor

Scott Dobroski

Many reporters know Scott Dobroski as an extremely helpful source for stories on working in Silicon Valley.

Glassdoor is sitting on a treasure trove of data and Dobroski has helped bring global attention to the company by turning that data into lists like the 50 best places to work and best CEOs. There's even a new term in the industry — the "Glassdoor generation," referring to how people always research their potential new employers on Glassdoor before going in for an interview.

Dobroski worked as a TV news reporter before moving into PR, so he knows how to spot a story.

"Scott is, hands down, one of my favorite people in San Francisco, and one of my favorite PR people to work with. He's fast, helpful and hilarious," one reporter praised.

Indeed, Dobroski just graduated from stand-up comedy college this summer.

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No. 2: Gina Sheibley, Salesforce

Gina Sheibley

Salesforce has been on a killer trajectory in the past couple of years. It's been growing revenue, its stock has been hitting all time highs, and it's put itself front and center on social issues from discriminatory legislation to equal pay for woman.

Everyone wants to talk to the company's charismatic CEO Marc Benioff, and Gina Sheibley is the one that makes that happen.

"Sheibley is always fast and responsive and easy to work with," one journalist says.

When she isn't running comms at Salesforce, you can find her at Soul Cycle or walking her dog on the Marina Green.

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No. 1: Frank Shaw, Microsoft

Frank Shaw

Frank Shaw is the go-to PR guy for the many, many reporters who cover Microsoft and has been for years.

Reporters praise Shaw for his fast response time and his ability to get them interviews with top execs. He seems to be on duty around the clock, every day of the year, and keeps a sense of humor as he spars with Microsoft skeptics on Twitter.

"Frank really understands what reporters need to cover Microsoft and he delivers," one journalist says.

For instance, Shaw was invaluable in helping the tech press cover Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn. And he's also helped Microsoft tell the stories of its growing cloud computing business, hottest gaming products, and changing culture under CEO Satya Nadella.

Shaw, a former Marine, joined Microsoft proper after years of doing Microsoft's PR from its primary agency, WE Communications.

Reporters also know something else about him: he loves to bake, especially sourdough bread, and he's been known to show up in the newsroom with freshly baked loaves.